The public will have to postpone official business with the Supreme Court in Manila on Friday. “It will be a ‘no transaction’ day at the SC today, December 12, as the Court celebrates its Christmas party,” the high court said in its advisory via Twitter. — Joel Locsin/ELR, GMA News
Samar roads and bridges damaged by Ruby. People cross a bridge which was damaged by Typhoon Ruby (Hagupit) in San Julian, Eastern Samar on Wednesday, December 10. Emergency response teams are struggling to reach coastal villages in Samar which was hardest hit by Ruby where thousands of homes have been wrecked, suggesting the Red Cross’s estimated death toll of 27 may rise. Reuters/Erik De Castro The total Typhoon Ruby (Hagupit) damage estimate rose to P3.339 billion as of Thursday night, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said. In its 8 p.m. update, the NDRRMC said the estimate was for southern Luzon, Bicol, Western Visayas and Eastern Visayas and it included P1.426 billion in infrastructure and P 1.912 billion in agriculture. The NDRRMC also said the death toll rose to 19 while the number of affected included 694,277 families or 2,915,262 people. Of these, 186,694 families or 868,264 people are being served inside and outside 3,003 evacuation centers. The NDRRMC added that 8,694 houses were destroyed while 39,087 were damaged. On the other hand, 12, provinces are still experiencing power outages. — Joel Locsin/ELR, GMA News
EUROPEAN Union (EU) representatives on Thursday highlighted opportunities for deeper trade and investment ties between the Philippines and the EU, in light of the country’s prospective admittance to an expanded tariff-reduction scheme, amid a continuing push for a free trade agreement.
PETRON CORP. has assured that it can keep fuel prices and supply stable even with the looming shutdown of its operations at Manila’s Pandacan district as ordered by the Supreme Court (SC).
SWISS financial services group UBS AG has trimmed its growth forecast for the Philippines this year following a lower-than-expected gross domestic product (GDP) result in the third quarter but kept its growth targets for next year and 2016.
SoKor leader welcomes PNoy in Busan. President Benigno Aquino III is welcomed by Korean President Park Geun-Hye at a bilateral meeting at Westin Chosun Busan Hotel in South Korea on Thursday, December 11, at the sidelines of the 25th ASEAN-Republic of Korea Commemorative Summit 2014. Gil Nartea President Benigno Aquino III and South Korean President Park Geun-hye held a bilateral meeting on Thursday (December 11) in Busan, a port city of South Korea, on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-South Korea Commemorative Summit. The two leaders were expected to discuss ways to develop bilateral cooperation, South Korea’s presidential office said. South Korea and the Philippines established diplomatic relations in 1949. A close ally of the United States, the Philippines dispatched 7,420 soldiers to South Korea during the war. South Korea held a welcoming banquet for southeast leaders to celebrate the regional gathering on Thursday. The banquet is the first official event of the two-day summit. South Korean President Park Geun-hye said the summit will help to boost ties. “This commemorative summit is meaningful because it comes at a point where South Korea and ASEAN celebrate 25 years of friendship and will serve as the foundation to step up relations,” Park said. The leaders are set to discuss ways to improve strategic partnerships at a meeting on Friday (December 12). Park also held a bilateral meeting with Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong to strengthen the partnership between the two countries and cooperation in the economic sphere. Read More …
MANILA, Philippines – The government’s income tax collection from both corporate and individual taxpayers fell short of target in the nine months through September this year. Data from the Department of Finance showed that revenues from corporate and individual income taxes reached P585.58 billion, 8.7 percent below the P641.32 billion target for the nine month period. The amount, however, was six percent higher than the P538.98 billion collected the previous year. Tax revenues from corporate enterprises amounted to P141.8 billion, short of the P155.82 billion goal from January to September. It, however, represented an increase of 7.29 percent from the P132.16 billion collection in the same period a year ago. Taxes from personal income totaled P12.48 billion or almost the same level as last year. The amount was below the P15.16 billion target for the period. Withholding tax amounted to P171.33 billion, up 16.41 percent from P147.18 a year before. Meanwhile, capital gains tax stood at P8.96 billion, slightly higher than the previous year’s collection of P8.44 billion. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 For the whole of 2014, the government expects taxes on corporate and personal income to grow 19.5 percent to P975.5 billion. Of the total, P370 billion would come from individual taxpayers while P695.5 billion would come from corporations. In 2013, government’s share from personal income reached P252.6 billion and P418.4 billion in taxes from corporations’ profit.
MANILA, Philippines – The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas left key policy rates unchanged during its last rate-setting meeting for the year as inflation expectations continued to remain within the target for this year until 2016. BSP Governor Amando M. Tetangco Jr. said in a briefing yesterday the overnight borrowing and overnight lending rates were kept steady at four percent and six percent, respectively. The interest rates on the reverse repurchase, repurchase and the special deposit account facility and the reserve requirement ratios were also maintained. “The Monetary Board’s decision is based on its assessment that the inflation environment continues to be more manageable, with the risks to the inflation outlook remaining broadly balanced over the policy horizon,” Tetangco said. “Latest baseline forecasts show a lower inflation path for 2014 to 2016 relative to the previous policy meeting, reflecting in large part the subdued outlook for global commodity prices,” he continued. The policy making Monetary Board now forecasts inflation to average 4.2 percent this year from an October projection of 4.4 percent. The rate next year is also seen settling at an average of just three percent, down from a previous forecast of 3.7 percent, while the 2016 average is now seen at 2.6 percent from 2.8 percent. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 The government has a three- to five-percent target for inflation this year and a two- to four-percent range for 2015 and 2016. “Output growth moderated in the third quarter of 2014 as agricultural production Read More …
MANILA, Philippines – The Social Security System (SSS) said its provident fund for overseas Filipino workers has much more room for growth as only two in every five OFWs set aside money for investments and savings. Citing the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA)’s 2013 survey on overseas Filipinos, SSS senior vice president and international operations division head Judy Frances A. See said only 40.7 percent of 1.9 million OFWs had savings from cash remittances. This was 2.2 percent lower than the 2012 figure. Given this, See urged OFWs registered with the state pension fund to invest in its Flexi-Fund program, a provident fund type of retirement plan offered exclusively to OFW members. Under the program, an OFW member could contribute at least P550 based on the P5,000 minimum monthly salary credit (MSC) for OFWs to a maximum of P1,760 per month based on the maximum MSC of P16,000. “Saving should be a priority because once they come back home and their income stops, they would likely have to live off whatever amount they have set aside. It is, therefore, important that they accumulate funds for a reserve, such as their SSS savings to mitigate loss of income.” See said. SSS savings would redound to their benefit in the form of payments for contingencies such as sickness, maternity, disability, retirement and death, she said. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 “For only a minimum of P200 paid in excess of the maximum contribution, it already enables an OFW member Read More …
Be true in your actions, and dedicate your talents to uplift the lives of Filipinos. This was the gist of Chief Justice Ma. Lourdes Sereno’s Christmas message to the judiciary, posted on the Supreme Court website Thursday. “Ang buod ng Pasko ay ang pagdiriwang sa pag-alay ng buhay. Ialay natin ang sarili, ang hirap at ginhawa, ang kalungkutan at saya, at ang kahinaan at lakas, para sa Diyos na siyang bukal ng kabutihan at sa taumbayang uhaw sa katarungan at katotohanan,” Sereno said. She also called on the judiciary to dedicate their talents for the country, and to fulfill their promise to live simple lives. On the other hand, she asked the judiciary not to forget the needy and to help them through work and public service. “Maging tapat tayo sa lahat ng bahagi ng ating buhay at bigyan diin natin ang paggamit ng galing at talino na likas sa atin upang maiahon ang ating mahal na bayan,” she said. — Joel Locsin/JST, GMA News